Birth Story- Mom's Perspective

Dear Olive

 We love you so much!

 We waited and waited for Olive to decide to make her appearance! Every night at work I kept expecting for my water to break, or at least have some contractions! Nothing ever happened though! At my 40wk appointment I was still closed but "soft"! This was no surprised since every time I went to work I was checked, and it was always the same story!  Since nothing was happening we scheduled my induction for Sunday 4/26 @ 730 am!

   We showed up to the hospital at 730 and were greeted by your Aunt Monika. She works on the postpartum unit and had worked the night before! Little did we know at this point that this was not the last time we would be seeing her before you were born! We got all checked in and chatted with the nurses. Everyone has been so excited to meet you! We get settled into our room and our wonderful nurse mecall came in to get the party started! I got my IV put in and the doctor came in to make sure you were in the correct position, and to check my cervix! I was still closed and thick! They placed a medicine called cytotec that helps soften the cervix! Everything was going good, until I had my first real contraction! You did not like that squeeze Olive! I could hear your heart rate going down down down, I was trying to flip myself while keeping the monitor on, all while having your dad tell me what the heart rate was. Luckily your heart rate came back up, you did this a few more times and it was decided we would not place anymore cytotec! They checked my cervix again at 1. I was maybe 1 cm and a bit softer! They placed a cook catheter which manual dilated the cervix over the next 12 hours! After it was placed I ate a little lunch, but things started to get pretty crampy! Dad and I chatted, are snacks and tried to watch some tv! They checked my cervix again around 6pm and I was the same so they started another medication called pitocin to get contractions going abs hopefully speed things up! Right around this time, my wonderful doctor Tiffany Weber stopped by on her way to dinner to make sure everything was okay!

7pm came and it was shift change! Bri was our next nurse and she was wonderful!! TT and aunt Jessi showed up around this time as well, thinking that the party was going to get started! The nurse kept turns up the pit until it reached 4! The thing with pitocin is your contractions go from nothing to do intense! I switched to the wireless monitors so I was able to move around the room, and deal with the contractions better! Around 9 I got a dose of medication in my IV that was supposed to help me sleep, but the contractions were way to painful to even think about sleeping! I also got a few doses of IV pain medication, it really took the edge off, and made my head float! Someone in the midst of this, my friend Laura came over from mnbc and gave me the most amazing back massage it really allowed me to relax and cope with the contractions Around midnight I decided to get into the tub to see if that would help the pain, it was great but around 1 am i decided to get out and have them check where I was at! The removed the balloon and I was 2 cm but really hadn't made a ton of change, at this time she broke my water hoping that it would help speed things along. I was expecting a big gush, but it was just a little trickle every now and then!

At this point I was feeling sad, and knew I could not cope with the pain anymore so i requested an epidural! The anesthesiologist was helping someone else out so there was a bit of wait, but Bri kept me comfortable with the IV pain medication! Once he came I was ready to go! I watch epidurals benign placed everyday and guide people through them, but it was still the part I was most nervous about! Unfortunately I had good reason to be nervous! The anesthesiologist is usually amazing, an, but because he knew me he was trying extra hard to be careful and do a good job, and it back fired! The placement was the most painful thing! He kept hitting nerves/bone! He would try and redirect his needle and the pain would just shoot to the opposite side! It caused instant tears! He tried three times in the first hole and then finally tried a different location and was able to get it! I went numb pretty instantly! Once I was comfortable the nurse came in to put my Cather in, and she said " I didn't know you and Monika was sister in laws" I said yes but why are asking about her, turns out Monika’s water had broken and she was admitted just across the hall. The rest of the night was uneventful. Everyone took turns sleeping in between cervical checks. They kept turning up the pitocin in hopes it would make my cervix change.

At 7 am the new shift came on. Brian was our nurse, and he was AMAZING. I can’t say enough good things about him. He was exactly what I needed. Your heart rate looked amazing the entire time, so we were able to keep turning the pitocin up in hopes to get me into active labor. The doctors would come in and check my cervix every 2 hours. This is when the rollercoaster of emotions started. They would come in and I would get my hopes up that I had made change. All I really wanted to hear was that I atleast had dilated a Centimeter, but every time they would check, they would say “ a little thinner” “ maybe half a centimeter more. I was so devastated after each check. I knew that I should be progressing more and faster. I felt like my body was letting me down.  The resident on was trying to be encouraging and saying that he felt like I was making change, however I knew he was just trying to make me feel better about the situation. 

Sometime in the afternoon I was able to get another dose of IV Benadryl , I was also placed on a “peanut” ball, this helps keep the pelvis open and allow the baby to descend. I slept for a couple of hours, I was feeling some different pressure so I was hopefully that I had made some good change. When he came to check me and I was about 3 cm, which I had been 4 hours before, I completely lost it. I felt like I had done everything to allow for dilation. I was fully relaxed on the maxium dose of pitocin, and still very little change. At this point Tiffany came up from clinic to talk with me and make a plan. We decide to keep going for a little bit but the idea of a c section was on the table. She would be back around shift change and we would see what kind of progress had been made.

She came back around 6 and it was decided they would prepare for the c section but they would check me around 7 to see if any change had been made. I was so nervous for this check. It was an attending who I had never met before, but she was wonderful. She had gone through a very similar experience with her birth, so she knew the emotional rollercoaster of it. She thought I was dilated the same, so the decision was made to have a c section. I was so lucky to have such a supportive family and husband. They were behind me and my choices 100%. They ended up having to do an emergency c section, so we were pushed back a bit. During this time we noticed on the computer screen that your aunt Monika was pushing, and the race was on for what cousin would be born first.  She pushed like a rockstar and Rhett ended up being born about an hour before you.

Brian stayed an hour extra for another nurse, but she was there now, so Heather is the one who got to” deliver” you. It was time to roll back to the OR, I have never been so nervous in my life. I kissed your daddy goodbye, he would be coming back after they got me all set up. It was surreal.  As he was wheeling me back the anesthesiologist he gave me more medication in my epidural so I would not fill the surgery. I have never been so numb in my life. I was convinced I had no legs.  Being on the other side of the table is definitely an odd experience.  I am so grateful for such wonderful coworkers and doctors who explained what they were doing even though I already knew.  I was shaking really bad, it is a side effect of the medication plus the nerves, it was crazy though to have your entire upper body shake, but not have control of it. Them bringing your daddy back to the OR is a favorite memory of mine. He was trying so hard to hold back tears. He was my rock during the whole labor; he supported me 100% and never wanted to leave my side. I think everything had finally caught up with him. Once they cut though it seemed like it took forever for you to be born. I probably asked for an update like every minute.  I couldn’t help but hold my breath as you were coming out. I was just hoping that everything would be okay. It took a second but then you let out the most beautiful cry I have ever heard.  Your dad and I both started crying. It was exactly what we needed after a long two days of labor. They came around real quick and showed you to me, before they took you to the warmer to make sure you were okay. They gave you APGARS of 7,9 which is pretty darn good. I asked your daddy how big you were and he said “huge”. Silly daddy hasn’t seen many newborns , and after the 5 minutes when they brought you over to my chest, I saw how teeny tiny you really were. I was lucky enough to keep you for the entire time, you just laid on my chest and rooted around for a bit. I never knew it was possible to love something so much so quickly. While they were stitching me up I started to be able to feel what they were doing, I am not sure if it’s because I mentally knew what they were doing, or if I was feeling physical pain. The anesthesiologist gave me medication and once again I was floating, he was also able to give me medication for the shaking.  We then headed back to the room to meet TT and Jessi who were dying to meet you. They weighed and measured you. You were 7 lbs 4 oz and 19 inches long. Just a little peanut since you were 41 weeks.  In the room we hung out for a bit. Monika, Dan, and baby Rhett stopped by for a quick visit before they went to their postpartum room.  Uncle Cole and Aunt Lexi also came by for a quick visit. You are so loved Olive that people didn’t care what time of night it was, they just had to meet you.

As I was being wheeled over to the postpartum unit I got the best surprise. My friend Laura had come in extra just so she could be our nurse. This meant so much to me. After such a trying labor it was so good to see a familiar face, and know we were going to be taken care of. The first night was magical. The smell of a new baby is best. You just slept on my chest all night. I was so tired but I had a hard time sleeping because I just wanted to love on you.  The next few days on postpartum were uneventful. We worked on breastfeeding and snuggling. We took lots of walks in the halls, and just hung out and bonded as a family.

While it was not the experience I had pictures in my mind. I would not change it for the world.  The outcome was a healthy mom ( me) and a healthy baby  ( you) and that’s all I could ask for.